This article examines the resilience (or otherwise) of the United Kingdom social protection system in the face of increasing unemployment. It explores the extent to which benefits protect the household incomes of unemployed people both in relative terms and in comparison with an absolute
income threshold. It finds that for the people most likely to become unemployed in the first phase of the current downturn most of any protection they have comes from the earnings of other household, members. In the case of sole-earner households, the benefit system fails to maintain household
income above the poverty threshold in most cases and the relative drop in income for this group is very high by international standards.

The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice (formerly known as Benefits) provides a unique blend of high-quality research, policy and practice from leading authors in the field related to all aspects of poverty and social exclusion. The journal has changed its name to reflect its wider scope and has growing international coverage.

Content spans a broad spectrum of poverty-related topics including social security, employment and unemployment, regeneration, housing, health, education and criminal justice, as well as issues of ethnicity, gender, disability and other inequalities as they relate to social justice.

With succinct articles ideal for teaching purposes and students, The Journal of Poverty and Social Justice combines an original and exciting mix of:

scholarly, peer-reviewed articles

cutting-edge discussions of topical issues

a comprehensive round-up of key publications

It will be an essential resource for academics, policymakers and practitioners working in these areas.